AN: This idea has honestly been floating in my head for over a year but I have never had the courage to write it. I hope that people enjoy it 😊 so thank you very much for checking it out. I might make future chapters a little longer too but I'll see what people think before I decide that.

Darkness

Chapter One – Tadashi Returns

One year ago, Hiro Hamada had gone through the most devastating event of his entire life, the death of his older brother. Tadashi had always been there for him despite Hiro's own stupidity at times. The two of them had shared a special bond but now he was gone and only a memory. He and his aunt were going to visit the memorial again today and Hiro wasn't looking forward to it. He knew that he needed to go though. If he were in Tadashi's place then Tadashi wouldn't miss it for anything.

Hiro tapped on Baymax's chest as he finished the update that he had been planning for weeks. He had wanted to do something to honor his brother and working on his greatest invention seemed to be perfect. "There we go," Hiro grinned up at the white health care robot, "How are you feeling, big guy?" he asked and Baymax looked at him.

"My functioning is working at high capacity. The knowledge about diseases and health care has been updated. I suppose you would say that I'm feeling at a robotic high," he said and Hiro grinned. He wondered if Baymax actually meant that as a joke. He wasn't sure how setinent the robot had become over the past year.

"Well, that's great. So, you'll stay here, right? When I go to the memorial," he heard some footsteps and closed his eyes. They sounded like male footsteps but they were too light to be Wasabi's and too balanced to be Fred's. He shook his head. He was imagining things.

"There is somebody here, Hiro," Baymax commented. "I feel somebody's presence. Do you wish me to help them?"

Hiro blinked. So he hadn't been imagining things, there really was another person here. "Sure, I have to leave for the memorial in a little bit," he said before turning to see who it was and his eyes widened as he stared in horror at the man opposite him. He was caught in some dream or nightmare, wasn't he? He looked at the man who had his clothes hanging off of him because of all the weight that he had lost and half of his face was damaged by a burn but he was here.

"Where are you going?" the teenager asked and Hiro blinked.

There was no way that he was here. There was absolutely no way. "Ta—Tadashi?" he asked as the tears welled up in his eyes and he shook his head. He had wanted for this to happen but the unlikeliness of it actually taking place always stopped him from hoping.

Baymax turned in Tadashi's direction. "Performing an identity scan," he said as he looked Tadashi up and down. "Pulse rate slow. Unhealthy weight loss high. Depression high. Lungs are low functioning. Identity, Tadashi Hamada, confirmed. Also suffering from heavy burns with damages to the tissue resulting in scarring and nerve damage."

Hiro looked at Baymax, his eyes widening. This had to be a dream, he was still in his bed and the alarm clock would go off at any moment. He froze. So what if this was a dream? Was he really going to take his brother's appearance in his dream for granted? Trying not to cry, Hiro ran over to his brother and was received in Tadashi's arms. "I've missed you so much," he said and Tadashi hugged him back.

"I've missed you too, little bro," he said and Hiro tried to stop the tears from falling. "I can't believe how much work it took to get back here." He looked up at Baamax, "Thank you for taking care of him in my absence," he said before walking over to Baymax and touching him. He smiled at the invention and took a deep breath in.

Hiro grinned. "Wait until I tell the others that you're back," he said and Tadashi blinked in confusion. "You know, the team," he said and Tadashi shook his head.

"I'm not ready for them to know," he replied and Hiro paused. They were his friends and they wouldn't judge him. If this was because of the burn then he knew their friends wouldn't care about that. It wasn't as if it would change any of them.

"Are you…sure?" Hiro asked as he saw the pain his brother had gone through. He didn't even know where Tadashi had been or what trauma he had endured. It seemed that his brother wasn't as balanced as he used to be. "How about Aunt Cass?" he asked and Tadashi nodded.

"We can tell her together that we're back just not the others, I don't want the others to know," he said and Hiro shifted. This was great news that would be best shared however he was loyal to his brother. If he had to choose, his brother was worth more than the others put together.

"Okay," Hiro said softly as he studied his brother. As glad as he was that Tadashi was back, something seemed different about him. He bowed his head. If Abigail Callaghan could come back then why couldn't Tadashi. He ran into his brother's arms again and Tadashi held him close. "Let's go tell Aunt Cass," he said and Tadashi nodded.

…

…

Hiro was about to head to the memorial that was being held for Tadashi's death. Aunt Cass had suggested it to keep up appearances though she had fixed dinner for her nephew, worried that they should see a doctor because of the weight loss. Well, that invention of his seemed to be working so that would alert her to how serious the situation was.

He stared at the bedroom that had once held Tadashi's belongings and saw his brother sitting alone in the dark, the only light being a crack from the side of the blinds that he couldn't block out. Hiro was still in shock that Tadashi was even back. It had been a year since his supposed death.

"Hey," Hiro said as he entered the bedroom and saw Tadashi look away from him. "Why are you all alone in the dark? Do you need some company?" he asked and Tadashi shook his head.

"I'm fine," he lied to him and Hiro could tell that his brother wasn't telling him the full truth.

"Listen, if you need to…" he said and Tadashi bowed his head, Hiro making out most of his body despite the limited light.

"I said that I'm fine!" Tadashi repeated, snapping at him a little. Hiro hesitated. His brother was in no way fine but he didn't want to argue with him. He was too happy to just see that Tadashi was back. Hiro heard their aunt outside the room. She knocked and went over to her oldest nephew and hugged him tight, setting a tray of food down at a side table.

"Eat as much as you'd like, okay?" she asked as she smoothed his hair back. "We're just happy that you're back. You don't need to explain it all right now, okay?" she asked and Tadashi nodded. He didn't reply to her and Cass pulled back. "Nobody blames you for the circumstances," she told him, "but you let us know whenever you are ready."

"Thank you," Tadashi replied in an uncharacteristically hollow voice.

Cass kissed his forehead again. She placed a hand very gently on the burn on his face and then felt her eyes fill with tears as she wrapped her arms around him, wanting to protect him. It was a miracle that he had returned to them and with the weight loss and the damage to his body, she knew he had been through some things.

"I'll be back soon, okay?" Hiro asked and Tadashi nodded silently. "I promise that I'll be back as soon as I can. Are you sure that you don't want me to say anything to the others?" he asked and Tadashi nodded in silence, looking at the tray of food. "Baymax will be here if you need him," he said and then followed Cass out of the room.

"Call me if you need anything," she stressed to him and Tadashi just sat there staring at the floor before he lifted his head.

"Thank you," he said in a voice that carried more depression in it, more loneliness than Hiro could imagine.

As Cass went to the door of the house, she looked back at Hiro. "This is going to be harder than I was planning," she told him and Hiro nodded. Now that Tadashi was alive and back with them, they would have to lie to people who had loved him and would still love him. Hiro wasn't even sure how to explain this to their four friends.

Hiro looked back at the house, "Please keep him safe, Baymax," he whispered before leaving.

…

…

Tadashi looked towards the tray of food that his aunt had left for him. There was a bowl of soup that was covered as well as some things from the café. It had been so long since he had had real food. He looked at the tray before seeing Baymax in the hallway. He walked over to him nervously, "Hey, big guy," he whispered and the robot looked at him.

"Tadashi. Please allow me to check your symptoms once more," he said and Tadashi nodded, stretching out his arms but his body was shaking and he couldn't help but hug the health care robot that he had worked so hard on. "The emotion that you're feeling is depression. Would you like me to check for further symptoms?"

Tadashi shook his head before falling onto the ground. "I shouldn't be alive," he told him before putting a hand on his forehead. "Why am I alive?"

"Your symptoms are not in line with the deceased," Baymax told him and Tadashi nodded. He looked into the dark room. He needed to recover before anything else happened. He didn't want to mention how terrified he was inside. He needed his brother and his aunt but the rest of the world could go to hell for all he cared.

That wasn't the Tadashi Hamada that anyone wanted to remember.

End of Chapter One

Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated